Thom Koch: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: Vernon HillsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Vernon Hills Village Board (4-year Terms)Age: 63Family: Married, two step-daughters, four grandchildrenOccupation: Teacher Hawthorn Middle School SouthEducation: Associate of Arts, College of Lake County 1974 Bachelor of Arts Theatre Education,Barat College 1985 Minor in Political Science Master of Arts Counseling, Northeastern Illinois Univ. 1994Civic involvement: Vernon Hills Zoning Board of Appeals 1990-93 Vernon Hills Village Board 1993- present College of Lake County Southlake Advisory Board Member of the Kirk Players for many yearsElected offices held: Village Trustee Vernon Hills 1993 to presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Continue the work of our current board. Keep our local sales tax base strong and continue to have NO village property tax.Key Issue 2 Continue to keep our village budgets balanced while continuing to provide a high level of service.Key Issue 3 Upgrade Westfield Mall. It is an important cornerstone of our retail base.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?My experience gained form the years that I have served. I am also very open and available to anyone with a question or idea. I like discussing our community.Given the delicate balance between the need for revenue and over-taxing local businesses, what is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.Currently it is at a good level. We have done a good job of filling vacant spaces and we need to continue to keep our stores filled and improve the quality. Upgrading Hawthorn Westfield is important to this idea.Talking with your friends and neighbors, what seems to be their biggest public safety concern? Explain the concern as you see it, and discuss how you think it should be addressed.Traffic is always a concern and we are always working on it. Recently we have had a problem with drugs and we are working with our schools to address this issue. With the help of the Robert Crown educational center we are getting out infront of this issue.In these tight economic times, municipal budgets have to be prioritized. Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?Our budget and staff is in fairly good shape right now. That is as a result of the hard work done by the board and staff several years ago during the economic down turn. It is one of the reasons we were able to step in and work with the Park District to save the YMCA building.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Difficult to answer because upgrading the mall is something being talked about and as a group we continue to update and work on our strategic plan. If I had to pick one idea it would be that we are a community that is nearly done building new houses and whose housing stock is starting to age. This is important and we have already started to shift the focus of our Building Dept. from new to renovation and rebuilding.